As part of their #PrepRally coverage, The Weather Channel kicked off hurricane season last Friday by sending meteorologist Jim Cantore to the University of Florida campus. In the Powell Family Structures and Materials Laboratory, Cantore and UF hurricane researcher Forrest Masters simulated the impact of hurricane-strength winds.
The lab, which has a four-foot-thick concrete floor and several specialty-testing rooms, is often used to measure the resiliency of building materials in extreme conditions. Masters, who is an associate professor of civil and coastal engineering, set up tests on commercial garage doors, residential windows, and roof shingles.
Read about the visit in the Gainesville Sun.